FCC Vote For Open Internet Rules a Win for Internet Users

Today, by a 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved open Internet rules, placing enforceable net neutrality protections on a strong legal foundation. These rules fill the serious void created when the DC Circuit struck down the FCC’s previous rules against blocking and unreasonable discrimination by Internet service providers in 2014. The Center for Democracy & Technology has long advocated for strong open Internet rules, and today’s vote is a major victory for all Internet users. CDT issued the following statement in response to the vote and will have more in-depth analysis of the Commission’s order over the next week:

“Every Internet user should be celebrating today. By placing open Internet protections on clear authority, the FCC has preserved and advanced the basic end-to-end nondiscrimination principle that has been essential to the Internet’s evolution, as well as its power as an engine of economic growth and democratic discourse. The Internet both relies on and perpetuates permissionless innovation. These rules will ensure that innovation continues unimpeded by potential gatekeepers,” said Erik Stallman, CDT’s Open Internet Director.

“Internet users submitted more than four million comments to the Commission in this proceeding. The open Internet makes that unprecedented level of public engagement possible, and it is only fitting that public engagement helped move the FCC to fully embrace Title II,” Stallman added.

“The efforts to protect the open Internet do not end today, but the significance of this milestone cannot be overstated. The FCC has placed open Internet rules on the strongest legal foundation possible and that is exactly what they should have done,” Stallman concluded.